Quotations

On occasion I find quotations or anecdotes that make me interested in a person or the persons work; today I did so.

The person in question is Brendan Behan (1923 – 1964), he was an Irish poet, short story writer, novelist, and playwright who wrote in both Irish and English. He was also a committed Irish Republican and a volunteer in the I.R.A.

Quote:

“I only drink on two occasions – when I’m thirsty and when I’m not“

Anecdots;

Behan was once hired to write an advertising slogan for Guinness. As part of his payment for this, the company offered him half a dozen kegs of their stout. After a month the company asked Behan what he had come up with; Behan had already managed to drink all of the beer they had given him and hurriedly produced the slogan: ‘Guinness Makes You Drunk’. Not surprisingly he didn’t win the contract.

His last words is said to have been – to several nuns standing over his death bed; ‘God bless you, and may your sons all be bishops.’

Now I’ve never heard of the him before but I feel obliged to read up on him and his work.

One response to “Quotations”

[…] Testimony of the spade added an interesting post today on QuotationsHere’s a small readingOn occasion I find quotations or anecdotes that make me interested in a person or the persons work; today I did so. The person in question is Brendan Behan (1923 – 1964), he was an Irish poet, short story writer, novelist, and playwright who wrote in both Irish and English. He was also a committed Irish Republican and a volunteer in the I.R.A. Quote: “ I only drink on two occasions – when I’m thirsty and when I’m not “ Anecdots; Behan was once hired to wr […]

Welcome

Hello and welcome to Testimony of the spade.

My name is Magnus Reuterdahl and I am a Swedish archaeologist and osteologist. Most posts are connected to my work or my interests in general; Scandinavian archaeology, osteology, cultural heritage, literature and so forth.

On the blog Aqua Vitae (in Swedish) and Testimony of a wine (in English) junkie I blog on wine.